Ma Xiaotao: Elder Xuan, Save Me!

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

His eyes narrowed slightly. When he opened them again, a faint gray haze had already settled in their depths.

That was the power belonging to Electrolux, the Holy Necromancer, Calamity of the Undead.

Through that gray-tinted vision, Huo Yuhao finally saw his surroundings clearly.

But the sight sent him plunging into an ice abyss, as though all the blood in his body had frozen in an instant.

Within his spiritual sea, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress had fallen completely silent. Even Electrolux, who had always been composed, let out an exceedingly grave sigh.

He saw it.

He saw the tens of thousands of soul masters being dragged by an invisible force, tumbling toward the bottomless black vortex below like dumplings dropped into a pot.

The vortex was like the deepest black hole in the universe, swallowing even light whole.

He saw Du Busi, Sect Master of the Body Sect, roaring madly as his dark-green Martial Soul Avatar swelled to its utmost limit, like a demon god holding up heaven and earth.

Yet that terrifying power, enough to tear space apart, vanished without a trace before the invisible suction.

Du Busi's enormous body was being dragged toward the abyss inch by inch. No matter how he roared, it was useless.

He saw Jing Hongchen, master of Illustrious Virtue Hall, as his Soul Tools exploded one after another in the darkness.

Those Class 8 and Class 9 Soul Tools, normally regarded as national treasures by the Sun Moon Empire, were now like fragile glass toys, crushed by the darkness into scrap metal that filled the sky.

Jing Hongchen's eyes were bloodshot as he watched the work of his lifetime go to ruin.

He saw the Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult, those lunatics who normally delighted in tormenting others and called themselves rulers of darkness.

They had thought they were receiving the blessing of a dark deity, yet under the darkness's erosion, they released screams a hundred times more miserable than those of the civilians they had tortured to death.

Their prized evil Soul Power was drained dry in an instant. Their flesh peeled away, turning them into shriveled corpses before they were finally ground into dust by the vortex.

And at the center of that enormous black vortex.

A figure with eight Fallen Angel wings floated there silently.

Qian Jue.

He tilted his head slightly upward and spread his arms, as though embracing the endless darkness.

Eight ink-black wings slowly unfurled in the void, every feather flowing with dark-gold demonic runes that made hearts tremble.

The blood essence, Soul Power, and even souls of those soul masters sucked into the vortex were instantly shredded, turning into strands of pure energy that continuously poured into Qian Jue's body like countless rivers flowing into the sea.

"Welcome to..."

Qian Jue's icy voice rang out in the depths of every person's soul, like the whisper of death.

"My slaughterhouse."

Floating at the absolute center of the vortex, Qian Jue half-closed his eyes and felt the enormous energy surging toward him like a tsunami.

"This is... truly wonderful."

Qian Jue let out a satisfied sigh inwardly.

These tens of thousands of soul masters included the elite forces of several of the most powerful factions on the Douluo Continent.

The vitality of their blood essence, the purity of their Soul Power, and the strength of their souls made for an unprecedented Godly Taotie feast.

As that energy poured in, the already unfathomable pool of Soul Power within Qian Jue's body expanded at a terrifying rate.

All of this had been part of his plan.

Qian Jue had begun making preparations long ago.

He had used the power of Word Demon Zagred.

It was a terrifying ability that surpassed the existing system of rules on the Douluo Continent: Word Magic.

"I declare that a divine relic shall descend upon this land, drawing heroes from all directions to compete for it."

"I declare that all who enter this place shall be watched by the abyss, their souls branded and their flesh offered as sacrifice."

This was the monstrous lie Qian Jue had woven.

Using Word Magic, he had forcibly warped reality in this desolate land and created the illusion of a so-called ancient secret realm appearing.

The treasure light shooting into the sky and the faint aura of divinity were all bait created by Word Magic.

To arrange this massive curse formation, which covered hundreds of miles and was enough to trap the continent's greatest experts in one net, Qian Jue had remained in this so-called secret realm for several days.

He constantly overdrew his Soul Power, carving the rules of his words into the laws of this world one by one.

The moment any soul master who entered this place took their first breath or absorbed their first trace of heaven-and-earth energy, they had already fallen under the curse of the words.

This was an unsolvable weapon of causality. Unless one's spiritual power or Soul Power surpassed Qian Jue's, once they entered the game, their life and death would no longer be their own.

Over the past few days, Qian Jue had perfected the curse while quietly replenishing the Soul Power he expended, patiently waiting for his prey to walk into the trap.

And now, it was time to draw in the net.

Fortunately, the results were extraordinarily good.

They were even more perfect than Qian Jue had anticipated.

He slowly opened his eyes. There was not a trace of pity in those dark-gold pupils, only the cold indifference of one looking down upon ants.

His gaze swept downward.

Countless Holy Spirit Cult soul masters were enduring the cruelest punishment.

These experts at toying with souls were finally experiencing the pain of having their own souls torn apart inch by inch.

Their bodies began to crumble into ash. The moment black evil aura rose from them, it was ruthlessly crushed by the vortex.

Among them was Ma Xiaotao.

The Ma Xiaotao of today was no longer the high-spirited genius of Shrek's Inner Court from years ago.

Under the corruption of Evil Fire and the brainwashing of the Holy Spirit Cult, she had become the terrifying Dark Phoenix.

Yet before this absolute darkness and destruction, the Evil Fire of the Dark Phoenix seemed utterly laughable.

"No... no! My body!"

Ma Xiaotao screamed in terror.

She watched helplessly as the Dark Phoenix flames she had been so proud of were forcibly stripped away by the vortex. Then, gray cracks began to appear across her fair arms.

The cracks spread rapidly, like a dried-up riverbed.

Her flesh was withering, turning to ash and scattering in the wind.

The terror of watching herself be destroyed bit by bit, while being unable even to kill herself, completely shattered Ma Xiaotao's psychological defenses.

"Elder Xuan! Save me! Please save me!"

Ma Xiaotao cried out miserably, her voice filled with despair and pleading.

She tried to flap her broken phoenix wings and escape, but the suction was like countless invisible hands clamped tightly around her ankles, dragging her toward the abyss.

Hearing Ma Xiaotao's agonized cries, Xuan Zi's eyes nearly split with rage.

"Xiaotao!!!"

Xuan Zi roared, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

He frantically drove the Soul Power within him, unleashing the pressure of a Rank 98 Super Douluo without holding anything back.

The Martial Soul Avatar of the Godly Taotie Bull appeared once more, its enormous horns attempting to break through the darkness's blockade.